Words
instagram can be the worstttt (& the best). in this case, it’s the best ;)
welcome to a collaborative autumn playlist, all of our most-favorite fall-ish songs. little bitta cozy, whole lotta nostalgia. hope it gives you allll the autumn feels <3
November is here, which means Autumn officially is too. I swear I can smell it in the air & feel it in my bones. I feel like I start to take life a little more seriously every November (in a good kind of way). I love how the physical change of the seasons manifest such inner change in us humans. November is helping me remember. I remember dreams I've been burying under the covers of apathy and fear. I remember recipes I've been wanting to try (or make again) for months. I remember how healing the pre-sunrise a.m. can be. A melancholy (yet somehow) whimsical coziness has come upon me. The dichotomy is intoxicating.
The other day I came across these sentiments about this eleventh month & found them wildly appropriate:
"In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones.
Without their leaves, how lovely they are, spreading their arms like dancers.
They know it is time to be still...
In November, some birds move away and some birds stay.
The air is full of good-byes and well-wishes."
- Cynthia Rylant
Here are some Autumn-esque things I've been:
R E A D I N G
Moonlists. An online, running collection of lists by 3 new women, each new moon. Created by Leigh Patterson (who adapted the idea with permission from a National Geographic photographer). It's such fascinating content that you should just read them right now instead of me attempting to do it justice. Most inspiring content I've consumed in years—hands down.
L I S T E N I N G T O
W E A R I N G
Outrageously soft, high-quality sweatery goodness from Rosewood Boutique.
Here are the items pictured above:
Slit or Miss Sweater
Grey Striped Top
Plaid/Check Shirt
I feel like these shirts incorporate all of the coziness of November that I mentioned earlier. Soft, comfortable, flow-y. I specifically haven't taken the slit-or-miss sweater off in 3 days because it's like a blanket hugging you! I learned about Rosewood from a friend of mine. The husband & wife team behind this company, Kathryn & Cullen, are a baller team who are kind, adventurous & downright fun. After an excellent 5 year run in business, they are closing shop & heading to Bali to become digital nomads.
The best part about all this? A HUGE sale. Site-wide. If you were in need of some Fall coziness like me...click on over to their site & use the code ABIGAIL45 to get 45% off your whole purchase!
I got the pleasure of talking to Kathryn about the Rosewood journey they've embarked on, as well as the new one they are beginning with each other & their two little girls!
1. How did Rosewood Boutique come about? Any significance behind the name?
In 2011 we moved to Pittsburgh from Nicaragua and had $0. Starting Rosewood was a “NO” to corporate life, a “YES” to possibilities, and kind of a shoulder shrug to consequences.
As for the name, Rosewood Inc. does a lovely little line of boutique hotels - but we found that out after the fact. Also, Rosewood is the name of the town in Pretty Little Liars. I became buds with the author of the PLL book series - but again - only after being Rosewood Boutique for like 4 years.
2. So, your fam-jam is going to Bali...How long will you be there & what are your hopes for the travels?
2017 is a year of jubilee - Bali is just the kick off! After 2 months there - a beach month in Sanur and a yoga month in Ubud - we’re going to Vietnam, Portugal, Ireland, Mexico...basically everywhere that makes us be like, “GASP!” [big eyes emoji]
Where will we end up? We don’t know, but humdrum is not in the cards. Sorry humdrum!
Me and Cullen are probably writing a book about it all - no doubt a sarcastic slow-clap for all those young, single digital nomads - but being honest, all people really care about are our two cute sweeties, Isla and Gisele. They’re launching their own pajama line in the next few months. An artist friend is hand drawing and painting the patterns, which are sooo dreamy.
3. Now that Rosewood is closing shop after an awesome 5 year run, what are 3 things you've learned while owning & operating this quaint Pittsburgh boutique?
Love this question!
True, my business skills got stronger, but I’m most proud of the ways it taught me to be a better person.
Let Challenges Punch Themselves in the Face. Early on I was bothered when an upset customer threatened to smear my name all over town. And she did. Not only did people rally to my defense, she came in the shop the other day, dropped $400 and acted like nothing ever happened.
Help others as much as humanly possible. I’ve now helped 7 ladies launch and monetize their businesses - cray-zay! Now is a great time to be alive and a great time to be in business.
Sometimes quitting can be a power move - so long as it’s a “yes” to the next thing :)
Keep in touch with Kathryn!
Kathryn@RichHouseMedia.com
Darling Let’s Travel
Thanks for reading along, guys. May your Novembers be all kinds of melancholically whimsical too.
Slowly but surely, we are making this house a home. If you've been following along with our journey for awhile, you may have read some of my sentiments about how buying our first home didn't feel as awesome as "buying our first home" sounds. The end of July is when we moved in, and that following August was perhaps the hardest month I've known yet. Without going into details, it kind of felt like my life imploded in on itself (I still need some time before sharing the shareable details to the digital world).
So...making a house into a home was the last thing on my to-do list 9 months ago. I was in survival mode. Get through the day without hard-crying mode. God has been gracious though. He's stitching me up, starting to at least. I'm a bit steadier and stronger and learning more and more about what it looks like to make a house into a home. Looking back, I'm so thankful for the timing of everything. When your life felt as fragile as mine did, you don't care about painting walls and hanging shelves and the right kind of curtains to hang. You can't care. You care about feeling okay and healthy and thankful and just like yourself again.
God gave us a lovely, functional house and simultaneously showed us that the state of our marriage—our intangible home—was a full blown fixer upper.
So I didn't care about the drawers that didn't work right.
I cared about my relational habits that weren't working right.
God was (and is still) teaching me that exterior is always secondary to the interior. Have a perfectly styled house with a disheveled home and you turn up empty at the end of the day.
Aesthetics are only as beautiful as they are true.
This lesson has informed the last 9 months of my life. House projects and house products are now merely accessories to my life. They brighten it, no doubt. But they don't complete it.
Humble hearted people make a house a home. Because a home is a haven—a place where "I'm sorry's" flow freely, and meals are cooked together with joy and deep dreams are learned to be shared.
We haven't arrived.
Perhaps we never will.
But at least now we know,
that true homemaking is more about humble-heart making than anything else.
And this frees me to love our soft, charcoal bedding, and appreciate our linen bath towels, and sheepskin moccasins. As we seek to know and serve each other, the coziness of all those items magnify the warmth being kindled between us. It's all so beautiful and freeing because it's true.
Enjoy the images and glimpse into our lives.
Know that it came through months of hard nights and healing mornings.
May our house never stop becoming a home.
If you're looking for new bedding, Smart Bedding is the way to go. As you can already tell in the images, this premium french linen is outrageously soft. The more washes and wrinkles...the softer it gets. The company is called Smart Bedding because of their smart design of having the top sheet snap into the duvet cover on both sides. Making our bed got a lotttt easier.
One of my favorite aspects of it is the charcoal color. It's rich and cool and beautiful and Samson (our pictured great dane) approved. It also retails at less than half the average price of a linen bedding set.
Here are some details/links to the other pictured items!
△ Alixx Tea Time Reed Diffuser - By far my favorite scent from them. So fresh yet warm.
△ House of Baltic Linen Waffle Towels - Amazingly comfy, big towels in soft neutral colors.
△ Sheepskin Minnetonka Moccasins - Feels like a sheep is hugging my feets every morning!
